Falling Slowly
by operationkillthebitch
Summary: Regina and Emma share a cabin on the Jolly Roger. Swan Queen. Rated M for later chapters.
1. Chapter 1: Regina

The Jolly Roger rocked back and forth, the sea heaving it from side to side. Regina tried to steady herself within her cabin, holding on to the small wooden table next to her bed, she rolled her eyes and sighed as she looked at the frayed rope that constituted her hammock-her bed. She was not fond of boats, or the sea, her stomach lurched with every sway and dip of the old ship as it was tossed about in the choppy water. They'd been sailing for what seemed like ages, but according to the date it had been just under a week. A Sudden violent jerk of the boat knocked Regina off her feet and sent her flying backward to land with a thud on the hard floor. Regina just lay there for a moment, her eyes closed, mind racing, stomach turning. She absolutely hated this, if hell was real she was definitely in it, stuck on a boat with the people she hated the most.

Suddenly Regina heard footsteps approaching, rapid at first but then slowing, as they got closer to the door. Regina slowly opened her eyes and turned her head so she could see under the crack of the door. She squinted a bit and then rolled her eyes; she hoisted herself up into the lone chair in the room and watched the shadow under the door. The light flickered as the person on the opposite side of the door seemed to nervously hop from foot to foot. Regina just quirked a finely sculpted eyebrow and waited. After several long seconds there was finally a knock on the door and before Regina could answer the door was creaking open. "Nice of you to knock Miss Swan but I believe you're also supposed to wait for an answer before walking in." Emma just shrugged as she continued to walk in, "hey, its my room too...just be happy I knocked."

Regina eyed the blonde as she kicked off her boots and flung herself into her hammock. "I really am in hell," Regina muttered to herself. "What was that?" Emma questioned as she adjusted herself in the hammock to achieve optimum comfort. "Nothing," Regina retorted as she watched Emma wrap herself up with a blanket, she looked like she was in some type of cocoon. Regina rubbed at her temples, her head was pounding, and she was trying very hard not to expel the contents of her stomach.

She slowly got up from the chair, steadying herself as best she could and then walked over and climbed into her own hammock. As she lay there she stared up at the ceiling. Ropes hung from beams and water dripped down from small holes that littered the ceiling. Her mind began to wander, she thought of Henry and how close she was to finally getting some semblance of a happy ending before having it all ripped away by Greg and Tamara. She finally proved herself to her son, she could be good, she could do the right thing, and what had it gotten her? Stuck on a boat with people who still, regardless of the scarifies she was willing to make to save them, look at her like she's evil. She let the tears fall freely down her cheeks, she tried to choke down the heavy sobs that were coming but it just hurt so much. Her body silently shook as she wept into her pillow, grateful for the dark so that no one could see how broken she was. As the night went on Regina's sobs stopped and she drifted off into a restless sleep. The boat continued to rock relentlessly, Regina's hammock swaying back and forth with the motion of the boat. Her eyes suddenly shot open as her stomach lurched and heaved; she fell from the hammock with a loud crash. Her head was spinning, her vision becoming blurry; she could just make out Emma sitting up in her hammock before everything went dark.

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Slowly the world began to come into focus. Regina blinked a few times and slowly began to sit up. She rubbed her temples, her head still slightly pounding. She felt terrible. She turned slightly to prop up her pillow and then leaned back against it. It was then she realized she was in Emma's hammock...and not only was she in Emma's hammock but she was also in one of Emma's old t-shirts. At that realization Regina jumped out of the hammock and went straight over to where her trunk was on the other side of the room. Before she could open it she noticed the note on top:

"I knew as soon as you saw what you were wearing you'd be over here first thing. Take 3 Advil and keep the candy on you, they help with seasickness.  
-Em"

Regina looked from the note to the bottle of Advil and bag of ginger candies that sat on her trunk. She smiled to herself, she hated to admit it but she'd actually have to thank the sheriff. She threw the trunk open and started rummaging through it searching for something appropriate to wear. When she had packed this trunk prior to the curse being broken she hadn't taken in to account the possibility of being stuck on a grimy boat, Gucci suits weren't going to cut it here. Finally she pulled out a pair of black jeans and a white V-neck, these would have to do. Once she was dressed she made her way from the cabin to the deck of ship, as she climbed the stairs she could hear the sound of the gulls become louder and louder. It was very bright on the deck, she squinted her eyes as they adjusted to the intense light. When she could finally see again she noticed Emma over talking with Snow and Charming, still not feeling 100% Regina decided to avoid that group for the time being and wait for Emma to be alone. She reached into her pocket and popped a ginger candy into her mouth. She hated the way they tasted, but it did wonders for her seasickness. Regina decided she mine as well explore the deck a bit, she hadn't really been out of the cabin much since they set sail. Walking along the deck, the wind blowing her hair back from her face, the salt in the air, it wasn't so bad being on the deck.

"Nice to see you out and about Madame Mayor," Gold's voice cut through Regina like ice, so much for a nice walk on the deck, "I see you have some color back…you no longer look so green," he finished, coming to stand right next to Regina. "You can drop the formalities Gold, Regina will do just fine," she shot back not looking at him. He was the last person she felt like dealing with right now. Gold studied her expression before he spoke again, "you could use magic and be done with this seasickness yet you choose not to? Hmmmn has the evil queen actually changed? Or is she just too weak still to do simple magic?" Regina continued to look straight ahead at the open sea, "Henry wouldn't want me to," she responded coldly. Gold chuckled, "Well lets see how long this lasts, you need that power Regina, you crave it, depriving yourself from it will do more harm than good." Gold continued to stare at Regina as the words sank in, "and when you finally break down, I'll be there, watching you fail…again." Regina remained expressionless, Gold continued laughing to himself as he turned and walked away. What Regina would give for some unfortunate accident to occur and to have Gold fall overboard she hated that little imp. She turned her attention back to the open sea and watched the waves rolling on the horizon. Henry was out there somewhere, and she was going to do whatever it took to get him back, to be a family again.


	2. Chapter 2: Emma

It had only been a week and Emma was already sick of being on this boat. The sooner they got to Nederland the better; Snow and Charming were driving her nuts. She was happy to finally have her parents, but at 28 the last thing she wanted was to be stuck on a boat with them for an indefinite period of time. The only thing that kept her sane was escaping to her cabin, and even that wasn't all that great since she was sharing it with Regina. If there was a hell, Emma was in it. She descended the stairs from the deck and made her way to her room, as she got closer she slowed down and started thinking maybe she should go back to the deck. Regina had been having a hard time adjusting to life at sea, she wouldn't admit it to anyone but Emma could tell.

She stood just outside the door listening for any signs of movement from inside. Nothing. "Maybe she was sleeping," Emma thought as she reached for the knob of the door, she knocked as she opened the door just incase.

"Nice of you to knock Miss Swan but I believe your supposed to wait for a response before walking in" Emma rolled her eyes, even when sick Regina was still as sassy as ever.

"Hey its my room too...be happy I knocked," Emma said as she kicked off her boats and threw herself into her hammock. She was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to sleep. She curled up into her blanket and quickly drifted off.

Emma's eyes slowly opened, the room was dark, and she could make out the sound of muffled sobs above her. Regina was crying. Emma wasn't quite sure what to do in this situation. She knew that Regina had cried every night they'd been on the boat, she wanted to say something to her, to offer some kind of comfort but she knew Regina too well and the best comfort Emma could give was to keep her mouth shut and let Regina continue to think that she had her fooled.

After about an hour of soft weeping Regina's breathing evened out and it grew quieter in the room, Emma could tell that she finally drifted off to sleep, thank god. Regina needed all the sleep she could get.

Emma rolled over on to her back, her hammock gently swaying from the rocking of the boat. She stared up at Regina's hammock directly above her, her mind began to wander. She couldn't imagine what Regina was feeling; it couldn't be easy for her being stuck on this boat.

Suddenly the hammocks started to swing and jerk back and forth, the boat must have entered some choppy water because it was rocking back and forth much more violently. Even Emma's stomach started to turn. The next thing Emma knew Regina was crashing to the floor. Emma jumped out of her hammock and over to Regina's side. The brunette's eyes were fluttering wildly; she was covered in sweat, her hair sticking to her face and neck. Emma gently scooped her up and pulled her into her lap, Regina's head leaning against the blonde's shoulder, she was shaking uncontrollably. Emma could feel how hot Regina's body was; she was burning up.

Slowly Emma stood, picking Regina up and carrying her over to her hammock, she gently put her down and moved the hair from her face, her hand lingered on her check and she couldn't help but notice that Regina leaned into it. She looked so helpless like this, her usually hard demeanor gone, and instead here was this innocent girl. Emma stroked her check gently with her thumb and then turned and went to her trunk grabbing a t-shirt and a towel and headed back over to the hammock.

She wasn't quite sure how to go about this, and felt rather awkward doing it, but she couldn't let Regina stay in the clothes she had on, they were soaked in sweat and much too hot for her to be wearing. She looked the brunette over once and then took a deep breath. Sitting down on the side of the hammock she made sure to keep them balanced, and then reached for the first buttons of Regina's shirt. Slowly she started to undo them, with each button more and more tanned flesh became exposed. Emma gulped hard. She hated to admit it but Regina was absolutely gorgeous. She finally finished unbuttoning the shirt and then gently lifted Regina up, her forehead leaning against Emma's shoulder as she carefully removed the damp shirt. Once it was off, Emma carefully maneuvered her t-shirt over Regina's head and arms and then gently laid the brunette back down. Slowly getting up from the hammock she grabbed the towel and went over to the bedside table where a pitcher of water was waiting. She poured the cold water over the towel and then wrung it out; making her way back over to Regina she placed the cold cloth on Regina's forehead, and then pulled the blanket up around her.

Now that Regina was settled in, Emma decided shed go up to the deck, she knew Regina would probably be pissed once she woke up and found herself in Emma's clothes and hammock. She went over to her trunk and pulled out a notebook she had crammed in there and a pen and quickly jotted down a note for Regina. She left the note and a bag of ginger candies and Advil with it; she knew Regina would need those.

Quietly she tip toed from the room and made her way to the deck of the ship. As she climbed the stairs she breathed in deep, the salt air was refreshing. The wind whipped her hair back from her face as she made her way over to the railing. She watched the waves on the horizon, endlessly rolling. The sun was just starting to peak up over the waves. It was beautiful.

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"I think Regina might be up to something," Snow said nervously. Emma just stared at her for a moment, "You have got to be kidding me?"  
"What?" snow said, "Emma, think about it, have you seen her around much? I think she's planning something." Emma could see the worry in Snow's eyes, but she couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Trust me, she's not planning anything. I'd know, I share a cabin with her."  
"Then what is she up to? Why is she always hidden away down there?" Snow asked. Emma thought about telling her the truth, that Regina spent her days struggling with sickness and her nights wracked in grief, but she decided against that. "She just doesn't want to hang out with you," Emma joked.  
"Funny Em- " just then something caught Snow's eye, she turned in time to see Regina making her way up on deck.  
"Speak of the devil, look who decided to make an appearance." James said as came up to stand beside Snow. The three of them stood and watched as Regina made her way to the other side of the ship to stand near the rail. Snow and James continued to stare; Emma looked from them to Regina, and then decided she was going to go talk to her. "I'll see you guys later," she said as she started to walk away.  
"Where are you going?" Snow asked, even though she already knew the answer.  
"To talk to her."

"You might want to hold that thought Emma." James said as he gestured over to Regina, Gold was now standing next to her. "Well this sure isn't going to help ease Snow's suspicions," Emma thought.

She waited for Gold to take his leave and then she began to make her way across the deck towards the brunette. When she got to the other side she just stood to the right of Regina and held on to the railing, both of them standing in silence looking out at the horizon, several minutes passed before Emma dared to look at Regina. "Thank you," Regina said, still staring out at the horizon.

"Don't mention it," Emma replied. She wanted to ask her how she was feeling but she didn't want to press her luck. This was the first time shed been around Regina for more than five minutes where a fight hadn't erupted. The pair just continued to stare out at the horizon.

Emma couldn't help but notice that Regina seemed different today, less mayoral and more like the innocent girl she saw the night before. Perhaps it was the change in clothes, or maybe she was just still sick, either way something was different.


	3. Chapter 3: Magic

Regina was already lying in her hammock by the time Emma got back to the cabin. "You didn't come to dinner…again," Emma said as she sat on her hammock and started undoing her boots.

"Aren't you observant," Regina replied agitated.

"You need to eat Regina." There was no response, Regina just rolled over on her side to face the wall, signaling to Emma that the conversation was over.

Emma sighed and lay back in her hammock, she didn't know why but Regina was really weighing on her. She hated seeing her like this. "Hey Regina?" Emma waited, no response. "Regina?"

"What do you want Miss Swan?"

"Since we're stuck on this boat, and I don't trust Gold as far as I can throw him, would you consider helping me with magic?" That was a lot harder to ask than Emma had thought it'd be. She waited for an answer but Regina said nothing. "If you're worried about Henry finding out you used magic I think he'd be okay with this…I mean you'd be helping me…and I don't know I could maybe help you? Like…in return you could talk to me? If you wanted…I don't know," Emma was fumbling over her words like an idiot, this wasn't going well, she just wanted to give Regina an outlet, someone she could talk to.

Regina's hammock swayed with her movement as the brunette rolled onto her back, "fine," she said. Emma couldn't help the smile that spread across her face. "Really?" Emma asked excitedly. "Yes, Miss Swan, but I don't need you to play Doctor Phil, there's just nothing else to do on this boat."  
Emma smiled even wider. "Thanks Regina."

"We start tomorrow morning."  
With that Emma drifted off to sleep, and for the first time in over a week so did Regina.

The next morning Emma woke to find Regina staring at her from across the room. She sat in the chair, arms folded across her chest, a look of irritation on her face. "Well look who decided to finally get up." She said. Emma sat up, yawning and stretching her arms, "What time is it?" she asked.

"Time to start your lesson, I don't have all day." Regina seemed to be back to normal. Emma got up from the hammock and threw her boots on and made her way to the door. "Where are you going Miss Swan?" Regina asked un-amused.

"Breakfast first, then magic. Come on." Emma called over her shoulder as she walked out of the cabin. Regina sighed and followed Emma down to the hull of the ship. "This isn't the kitchen," Regina said slightly confused as she looked around the hull. It was lined with different sized barrels and crates, all covered in dust. "Look whose the observant one now," Emma said smirking at the brunette. "Yes, while your sarcasm is amusing as always, perhaps you can tem what exactly we're doing down here?" Regina was growing more and more annoyed with the blonde. The last place she wanted to be was in this place it was absolutely filthy. Emma just ignored Regina's question as she continued to walk around the hull, examining the different barrels. "Ah! Here we go!" Emma exclaimed as she lifted the lid of the barrel and reached inside, "here," she said as she tossed an apple to Regina, "breakfast." Regina caught the apple; she turned it over in her hands several times. Emma watched her as she examined it. "It's not poisoned, I promise, "Emma joked.

"Funny," Regina said as she wiped the apple on her jeans and then took a bite. Emma grabbed a few more apples from the barrel and then turned to leave. "Cone on, magic time."

Regina followed Emma back to the cabin, "So you get breakfast down there every morning?" Regina asked. Emma sat down on the floor and started to wipe off another apple; "I eat down there whenever I can" she answered then took a bite of the fruit in her hand. "You don't eat with you family?" Regina found this curious; she thought Emma would have loved to be around her family after going so long without them. She couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt as she thought about all those years Emma spent alone. "Just because they're my family doesn't mean I want to spend all my time with them, and if I'm being honest," she paused for a moment, she nervously played with the stem of the apple, "they get on my nerves. They want to play the roles of 'mommy' and 'daddy'…I'm 28 years old, that ship has sailed…anyway…enough about that. Lets get on with the lesson."

Regina nodded and grabbed the candle from the bedside table and sat down on the floor beside Emma. "Okay, we'll start off with something simple, lighting a candle." Regina said as she sat the candle on the floor in front of them. "The goal is to see the candle lighting in your mind and then make it happen. Feel the magic within you flow freely. Watch." Regina sat back, eyes locked on the candle; she closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. Emma watched her intently. Regina exhaled and opened her eyes; she then blew on the wick of the candle, a flame instantly igniting. "Now you try." Emma looked at the lit candle and then to Regina, "Piece of cake," she said as she blew out the candle. Emma closed her eyes, inhaled, then opened her eyes and blew on the candle like Regina had done…nothing happened. Regina laughed, "I thought you said it was a piece of cake?" Emma looked at Regina and raised her eyebrow. This was the first time that Emma had ever heard her genuinely laugh. "Oh you think this is funny? Well excuse me for not being as well versed as you your majesty," Emma smiled at her. Regina chuckled to herself, "just try again Miss Swan, visualize it more, and don't just go through the motions. Feel it." Emma took a deep breath and visualized the candle lighting, then attempted again…nothing. This went on for a few hours. Emma growing more and more frustrated, and Regina no longer seeing it as funny, but as pathetic and boring. "As much fun as this is Miss Swan, I think I'm going to call it a day. We can try again tomorrow." With that Regina stood up from the floor, Emma watched as she made to leave, "just let me try one more time!" Regina looked down at her, "Miss Swan there's only so many times I can sit here and watch you squint at a candle…tomorrow." With that she started to leave the room, "Regina wait," Emma said as she lunged forward and grabbed Regina by the wrist. As soon as Emma's hand clasped around Regina's wrist the candle ignited. Both turned to stare at the candle. Regina's mouth dropped, she looked from Emma's hand around her wrist to the flickering flame of the candle. Emma just stared at the candle. She couldn't believe she did it. Her hand remained closed around Regina's wrist. Neither one of them moved. Emma could feel the magic flowing through her, it was fluttering in her chest, she felt warm. She'd never felt anything like this before. The intensity of the flame began to grow, the color changing from red, to pink, to blue. It grew taller and taller. Pulsating. Suddenly the candle exploded. Regina pulled her wrist from Emma's grasp. "That…I felt…what was that?!" Emma gasped. Regina's eyes where wide, she held her wrist where Emma's hand had been only moments earlier, "I have to go," Regina said hurriedly, she turned and rushed out of the room slamming the door behind her. Emma sat on the floor; she put her hand over her heart and felt it racing. She looked at the pieces of the candle and glass that littered the floor. "What was that?" she wondered out loud.


End file.
